Can-opener.



o. SKAAR. CAN OPENER.. APPLICATION' FILED FEB.Z.1918.

w Patented Nov. 5,1918.

INVENTOR,

WITNEssEs ATTO H N E Y.

OLE SKAAR, or AKRON, oHIo.

cnn-OPENER.

inserer.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1918.

lApplication led February 7, 1918. Serial No. 215,869.

To all whom it may concern:

`Be it known that I, OLE SKAAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in

`the county of Summit and State of Ohio,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can-Openers, of which the followingis a specification. l

, This invention relatesto can openers, and

has for its primary object to provide' a del vice which is capable of being quickly and easily applied to the can and whichv may be easily operated to cleanly cut the top ofthe can from the body thereof without danger y of cutting or injuring the hands.

A further object of the invention is tov provide a can opener which operates upon the can body in such manner as to form an outwardly projecting flange upon the can body during the cutting operation, so as to greatly facilitate the removal of the con- -tents of the can without injury to the hands.

Still further objects reslde" in providing j yothers which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novel formation, combination, and arrangement of parts, all as will be described more fully hereinafter, illustrated in the drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of a conventional form of can, and'illustrating the application of a can opener constructed in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the can and illustrating the parts of the opener in the position they will assume in first operating upon the can,

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is asimilar view taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Referring now' more particularly to the drawings,` 5 indicates the handle or body of the improved opener, which may be formed of any suitable metal, and this handle is reduced at one end as at 6 to receive the socket member 7, the set screw 8 being threaded through the socket member to hold the handle and socket member rigidl together. The outer ,end of the socket mem er has secured thereto a right angularly extending point 9 which is adapted to be pressed v through the top of the can to hold the opener pivoted thereon, and the upper end Y of this point 0r pin may be provided with a head 10 to permit of pressure being easily applied to the pin to force the same through the can head.

Pivoted as at ll'to the under side of the handle 5 is a lever 12. This lever is somewhat shorter than the handle 5, and is pivv oted to the latter inwardly from is forward end and has pivoted at its said end, as at 13, the rear end ofa knife blade 14. It will be observed, particularly by referring to Fig.. 2

of the drawings, that the end of the lever 12v to which the blade is pivoted is offset, so

that when the handle of the opener is disposed horizontally,the blade 14 will be disposed an appreciable distance below the said handle. T hehandle is provided adjacent its inner end with a downwardly extending stud 15, against which the rear edge of the 4blade is adapted to engage, the said stud' constituting a fulcrum for the said blade.

In operating the improved opener, the socket and handle are so adjusted that when the pin 9 is pressed through the center of thecan head the fulcrum stud 15 will be disposed slightly beyond the edge of the can.

lIVith the handle thus applied to the canhead and the movable parts in the positions shown by full lines in Fig. l the lever 12 is engaged by the fingers and moved inwardly toward the handle 5. This movement of the lever causes the pivot 13 of the blade to move inwardly, this movement causing the said blade at its point -to be forced through the `side wall of the can slightly below the top thereof. As the movement of the lever continues, the blade 14 is forced farther into the can, and the fulcrum stud 15 will cause the blade to ride forwardly at the outer end. When the lever 12 has been moved to the limit of its inward movement, the blade will assume the position shown b'y dotted lines in Fig. 1, and rotary movement of the opener with the pin 9 as a center will cause the top of the can to be cleanly and easily severed from the body thereof. It will be observed, particularly with reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings, that the blade let tapers downwardly outwardly during `the initial setting and cut-Y ting operations. The flange thus provided at the edge of the opened can will facilitate the removal of the contents thereof, and

danger of cutting the hands upon the can edge is obviated.

Afterthe openerhas once been applied to the can, same will bc firmly locked thereon, as the blade 1l and pin 9 will cooperate to hold the said opener in position. Should it b e desired to detach the opener from the can before the top has been cleanly severed, the lever 12 may be moved beyond the handle 5.so that thevinner end of the lever will cause the blade 111. to be withdrawn from the can side.

From the foregoing` it is obvious that I have provided a can opener whichwill be extremely easy in operation, and which may be quickly and easily applied to or removed from the can. By constructing the handle in the manner specified, it is obvious that the device is rendered readily Aapplicable to cans of various sizes.

IVhile the present is a disclosure of what is believedto be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, as various changes in the minor details of con struction, proportion, and arrangement of partsv may be resorted to if desired without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim l. In a can opener, a handle adapted to be secured at one end to the can, a lever ypivoted inwardly from one end to said handle, a pin on said handle and a blade pivoted to the end of Said lever and being adapted to fulcrum Ion. said pin and to enter the can when the lever is moved in one direction.

2. In a can opener, a handle adapted to be pivotally secured at one end to the top l of the can, a fulcrum element on said handle, a lever pivoted inwardly from one end to the said' handle, ablade pivoted to one end of said lever and being adapted to engage said element, and the said blade being disposed below the plane of the handle and being adapted to enter the side of the can when` the lever is moved in one direction.

3. In a can opener, a handle adapted to be pivotally secured at one end to the top of the can, a fulcrum element on said handle, a lever pivoted on said handle, and a blade pivoted upon said lever and being adapted to move toward said pivotedv end of said handle and to rest upon said element when the lever is moved in one direction.

4. In a can opener, a handle adapted to be pivotally secured at` one end to the can.

a blade, a lever on said handle, and a ful crum on said handle for the blade whereby the latter will be moved inwardly toward the can and away from the handle when the lever is moved in one direction.

5. In a can opener, a handle adapted to be pivotallyV secured at one end over the end .of the can, 'a lever pivoted upon the said handle, a blade, a connection between the lever and the blade whereby the latter will be moved into contact with the can side when the lever is moved in one direction, and a fulcrum on the said handle over which the said blade rides when being moved.

6. In afcan opener, a handle capable of being extended or contracted, a pin at one end of said handle, a lever pivoted uponsaid handle-inwardly from one of its ends, akfulcrum stud depending from said handle in advance of the pivotal connection of thesaid handle with the lever, and a blade pivoted at its rear endto the inner end of the lever and being adapted to rest upon the fulcrum stud. 7. In a can opener, a handle, a'stud depending from saidhandle inwardly from one end thereof, a lever pivoted inwardly from one of its ends tosaid handle adjacent said stud, a knife blade pivoted at its rear end to the adjacent end of said lever and being adapted to rest against said stud, and a pin upon one end of said handle adapted to enter the head of a can. l

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses. Y

OLE SKAAR. Vitnesses IV. N. CLAUSE, L. H. SCHNEIDER. 

